Translation in Literary and Academic Discourse

In the first part of this chapter the meaning of the term translation is discussed, beginning with the terms used to denote it in various European languages. The second part is devoted to the place of translation in humanities in general prior to the birth of the translation studies, and briefly summarises the most relevant contributions, ranging from Cicero and Saint Jerome, through John Dryden, Johann Gottfried Herder, and Friedrich Schleiermacher to Hans-Georg Gadamer. Finally, a brief history of the rise and scope of interest of translation studies as an independent academic interdiscipline will be outlined. As Evangelos Kourdis has proved, much of the early academic research on translation took root in various semiotic schools (e.g., the Brazilian semiotic school, the Tartu-Moscow school, or the Nitra school). Finally, an attempt is made to examine the existing definitions of translation and to place them within a semiotic framework.